An installation and performance on the miracle of sleep and the persistence of memory

“RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY” takes place in a landscape of memories and collectibles that the performer have cherished for years. The objects are housed in a quilt based on the traditional techniques of quilting and patchwork. These techniques which flourished from the 19th century in America and Canada, allow, through the stitching of pieces, for the creation of collage coverings for sleeping. The symbolic shapes that adorn them carry individual or collective memories and beliefs. The central theme of a quilt, having the role of recording and telling stories through female perception, is analyzed in a grid where each subdivision is a separate creation. The structure of patchwork refers to the concept of the pixel as well as the sticky post-it but its functionality is also related to hypnosis, acting as a metaphor of hibernate, a digital inactivation, but also of non-linear memory, non-serial data recording where access to these are done randomly.

“RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY” oscillates between recollection and hypnosis, observing and immersing, exhaustaution and relaxation, passive looking and participating. 

She collects everyday objects, useless bits and pieces she encountered while growing up whether store bought, street found or given. She is part of a system of objects which proves to be more than memorabilia. She inhabits an autonomous universe which ages, breaks, provokes and creates stories.

The ancient god Hypnos (meaning Sleep) lives in his cave by the river of Lithi (Oblivion), where day and night mingle and watches the performer seeking refuge in a quilt full of images. She wants to escape into a world of oblivion while being burdened by a world of memory. She explores and confronts the complexity of the quilt which underlies the materiality of her dreams. Hypnos, which occupies half of her life, wonders about her audacity and courage, as Baudelaire says, to surrender into his arms every night.

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Movement Direction: Evi Souli
Concept, Quilt Construction: Marilena Georgantzi

In Progress, 2021